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Ashleigh Brilliant

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Ashleigh Brilliant

Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant (born December 9, 1933 in London, England) is an author and syndicated cartoonist living in Santa Barbara, California. He is best known for Pot-Shots, a single-panel comic of illustrated one-liners, which began syndication in the United States in 1975.

The Wall Street Journal described him in a 1992 profile as "history's only full time, professional published epigrammatist."

In a copyright infringement suit filed by Brilliant, a U.S. federal judge has ruled that, while short phrases are not eligible for copyright, Brilliant's writings were epigrams and, therefore, copyrightable (Brilliant v. W.B. Productions Inc., 1979).

He employs a self imposed limit of 17 words per epigram.

In 1999 he authored the famed (and often-copied-without-credit) "Y1K Crisis" article which parodies the "Y2K Crisis" (Year 2000 Crisis) of 1999.

Quotations

  • I either want less corruption, or more chance to participate in it.
  • Cheer up! The worst effects of what we're doing won't be felt until after we're all dead.
  • Be kind to unkind people; they probably need it the most.
  • Keep some souvenirs of your past, or how will you ever prove it wasn't all a dream?
  • It's human to make mistakes and some of us are more human than others
  • The difference between friendship and love is how much you can hurt each other
  • I don't have any solution, but I certainly admire the problem

Trivia

Regarding his last name, Brilliant says:

As far as I know, the name Brilliant is of Russian/Polish/Jewish origin, and is akin to other Jewish names related to precious metals and jewels, e.g. Gold, Silver, Diamond, Ruby, Pearl. (One meaning of brilliant is a kind of diamond.) These in turn relate to the kinds of trades in which many European Jews were engaged when, in the time of Napoleon, they were first required to take surnames.

Books

All books published by Woodbridge Press (Santa Barbara, California)

  • I May Not Be Totally Perfect, but Parts of Me Are Excellent, and Other Brilliant Thoughts (1979), ISBN 0-912800-66-6, ISBN 0-912800-67-4
  • I Have Abandoned My Search for Truth, and Am Now Looking for a Good Fantasy: More Brilliant Thoughts (1980), ISBN 0-912800-89-5, ISBN 0-912800-90-9 (paperback)
  • Appreciate Me Now, and Avoid the Rush: Yet More Brilliant Thoughts (1981), ISBN 0-912800-97-6, ISBN 0-912800-94-1 (paperback)
  • I Feel Much Better, Now That I've Given Up Hope: And Even More Brilliant Thoughts (1984), ISBN 0-88007-145-1, ISBN 0-88007-147-8 (paperback)
  • All I Want Is a Warm Bed and a Kind Word and Unlimited Power: Even More Brilliant Thoughts (1985), ISBN 0-88007-155-9, ISBN 0-88007-156-7 (paperback)
  • The Great Car Craze: How Southern California Collided with the Automobile in the 1920's (1989), ISBN 0-88007-172-9.
  • Be a Good Neighbor, and Leave Me Alone: And Other Wry and Riotous Writings (1992), ISBN 0-88007-191-5, ISBN 0-88007-192-3 (paperback)
  • I Try to Take One Day at a Time, but Sometimes Several Days Attack Me at Once: More Brilliant Thoughts Than Ever (1987), ISBN 0-88007-161-3, ISBN 0-88007-162-1 (paperback)
  • We've Been Through So Much Together, and Most of It Was Your Fault: More and More Brilliant Thoughts (1990), ISBN 0-88007-182-6, ISBN 0-88007-183-4
  • I Want to Reach Your Mind... Where Is It Currently Located?: More Incredibly Brilliant Thoughts (1994), ISBN 0-88007-203-2, ISBN 0-88007-204-0 (paperback)
  • I'm Just Moving Clouds Today, Tomorrow I'll Try Mountains: And Other More or Less Blissfully Brilliant Thoughts (1998), ISBN 0-88007-221-0

References

  • Strickler, Dave. Syndicated Comic Strips and Artists, 1924-1995: The Complete Index. Cambria, CA: Comics Access, 1995. ISBN 0-9700077-0-1.

External links

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